Weiss VM32 Mill Conversion

[Hulksmash]

Thanks for the great post.

I think choosing your operating system / hardware is so difficult. Everyone has a different opinion as to what their preference is. For a complete noob like myself trying to get my head round the pros and cons is so hard.

I was only recently chatting to one of the forum members re Linuxcnc, and 4 and 8 wire motor wiring.. series connections vs parallel.

There is CNC operator near me who swears on 4 wire stepper motors, however he really only works with servo's. So it's good to see the reasoning behind using a 4 wire motor and who supplies them.

Thanks again for the detailed information, I look forward to your future posts.

[Clive S]

There is CNC operator near me who swears on 4 wire stepper motors, however he really only works with servo's. So it's good to see the reasoning behind using a 4 wire motor and who supplies them.

Well you can make 4 wire steppers out of 8 wire ones but not make 8 wire out of 4 wire ones

[takeda]

Lovely, looks absolutely lovely!

In some months I am starting the conversion of my VM32B which is branded as Weiss (R8, 4K RPM)

It's blue in color. Cost 2K (euro) not including VAT and I waited one damn year to get it, direct import from weiss.

I will use nema34 closed loop servos (12Nm for Z, 12Nm for Y and 4.5 to 8Nm for X although not sure yet), 2 external gus struts for Z, SFU2005 for Z and SFU1605 for XY. I am trying to find the SFU2005 with a long nut at reasonable price at this moment.

Except for Nema34 closed loop beeing cheep these days (150$ each including the driver) they don't need a DC supply, a toroidal transformer for each driver is enough. I had really bad experience with open loop steppers in the past (1 failure in 1 year is enough to lose trust).

For supports I will go with a bit longer ballscrews and FK12/FK15 blocks mounted on aluminum plates. Only X will be supported on opposing side. FK12/FK15 have proper angular contact bearing in place. Most chinesium BS supports carry deep groove bearings. Especially for Z is super important.


Also I am extending the Z height by 65mm (the extension length flactuates like bitcoin price in my mind) by adding a spacer to the bottom of the Z column. I have my 3D taster in place and the extra Z seems really necessary.

Apart from that I'm looking in replacing the spindle motor with something more powerful but this for a later time. More power is super required for low RPMs. I will use the machine manually as well. But also I need a FAULT signal wired to my control electronics. I don't really trust this chinese speed controller.

TTS/R8 tooling already in stock :)


I am getting a 12Nm stepper for Y because when the X axis is at edge position, Y gets stiff, ofcourse I will avoid using it at such positions if possible to avoid wear but... Oversized stepper whouldn't hurt.

Just can't wait to start my conversion. Unfortunately so busy that it'll have to wait.
If I am hijacking this thread sorry, I am too excited to share the info!